GLA Elections 2016 in Barnet

Motion detail

Following the electoral fiasco during the Mayoral and London Assembly elections, this Assembly has significant doubts about the ability of London Borough of Barnet to manage and administer elections.

In Barnet, the supplementary register, rather than the full register, was supplied to polling stations. By the time the error was spotted and remedial action taken, a significant number of voters were disenfranchised, though many were able to return to vote later. Many postal votes did not arrive on time, or were not received at all. Many poll cards were not received in time or at all. The election hotline was unavailable for most of the day.

The consequences of these problems, though, pale into insignificance when compared to the state of the electoral register in Barnet, which is worryingly deficient.

As a consequence of the significant issues raised, this Assembly has no confidence that Barnet could run a whelk stall let alone sort out the register and rectify these errors and inefficiencies by the time of the EU Referendum; especially as the details of their own inquiry have not even been announced yet.

The Assembly therefore calls on London Elects and the Electoral Commission to intervene actively to take over the running of Barnet’s election administration for the Referendum and to conduct an urgent review of the state and accuracy of Barnet’s electoral register; and also proposes that a London local authority with a record of excellent electoral administration, such as Camden, should take over the management of the European Union Referendum in the London Borough of Barnet.